Brief:
Estes Blue Bird Zero upscale; uses 24-inch parachute recovery..

Construction:
T' Estes Blue Bird Zero be me first model rocket. Avast! Naturally, when I became a BAR, I wanted t' clone one. A quick check o' Jim Z’s site revealed that thar were no plans available. Nay one t' be deterred, I searched on. T' make a long story short, me hearties, I found someone through t' internet who would provide me t' plans and fin tracings. Well, blow me down! Ahoy! I decided t' do a slight upscale t' BT-60 from t' stock BT-55 size mostly because that is what I had on hand at t' time. I needed 44.5-inches o' tubin' for correct scale. Aye aye! Avast, me proud beauty! I installed a 24mm motor mount and glued both sets o' fins t' t' lower body tube. Ya scallywag! I then proceeded t' join t' body tubes. Aye aye! Everythin' was glued with 30min epoxy. Well, blow me down! (author’s note: BBZ plans are available on Jim Z’s website, thanks in part t' yours truly.)

When all t' gluin' be complete, me bucko, t' entire rocket be skim-coated with thinned Fill ’N’ Finish and sanded smooth. Arrr! Aye aye! I then proceeded t' prime, shiver me timbers, and paint t' blue section o' t' rocket first. Blimey! Blimey! After drying, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, I masked t' blue section and painted t' white section, then clear coat over t' entire rocket. T' decals for this rocket were a challenge. I ended up drawin' them myself and printin' them on self-adhesive stock. Ya scallywag! Avast, me proud beauty! T' decals turned out good, matey, me bucko, and t' finished product looked great!

Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5

Flight:
I prepped t' BBZ for her maiden flight on a D12-3. I installed t' wadding, me hearties, me hearties, arrr, motor, arrr, parachute, ya bilge rat, and set her on t' pad. This rocket gives a nice, semi-slow, smokey, takeoff. Aye aye! She went up straight as an arrow — a very stable rocket.. Ejection was near apogee, and it recovered with no damage. Arrr! Blimey! After a perfect third flight, arrr, it landed on t' neighbors’ roof and slid about halfway down t' roof t' t' gutter. Avast, me proud beauty! T' BBZ was OK, except for some nasty shingle rash on t' edges o' t' fins. Ahoy! Avast! Flight number six would prove t' be fatal. Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! After a perfect boost and ejection, me bucko, t' chute did nay open due t' bein' tangled on t' shroud lines. Begad! It crashed on t' asphalt HARD — rest in pieces.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
I have t' give both construction and flight five out o' five. Begad! Construction was fairly easy, and t' rocket flies very well.